Section Five: About the Green Paper consultations
Consultation process
In January 2008, Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, and Minister for Housing and for the Status of Women, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, launched Homelessness: A New Approach. With the aim to significantly reduce homelessness, developing a new approach is an important part of the Australian Government’s social inclusion agenda.
The Government appointed an expert steering group to develop a Green Paper.
On 28 March 2008, Homelessness Australia hosted a Roundtable meeting of stakeholders in Sydney to discuss key themes and approaches to addressing homelessness. Feedback and advice from the Roundtable were used to help develop this Green Paper.
This Green Paper aims to promote discussion, draw out bold ideas and identify evidence-based approaches which reduce homelessness. Its release marks the beginning of a period of widespread public consultation.
We encourage individuals and groups to play a role in developing the new approach to homelessness by giving us views on the issues raised here. Responses and any other ideas will feed into the Government’s White Paper. The White Paper will include a comprehensive national action plan to reduce homelessness in the lead up to 2020.
Consultation sessions
To get direct feedback from the public, consultation sessions will be held in 12 locations across Australia. When possible the Minister for Housing, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP and/or members of the expert steering group will attend sessions.
| Location | Date |
|---|---|
| Perth | 28 May |
| Karratha | 29 May |
| Townsville | 4 June |
| Darwin/Palmerston | 6 June |
| Brisbane | 10 June |
| Sydney | 11 June |
| Melbourne | 12 June |
| Canberra | 13 June |
| Lismore | 16 June |
| Hobart | 17 June |
| Adelaide | 19 June |
| Albury-Wodonga | 20 June |
| Alice Springs | 23 June |
For more information about timing and venues for the consultation sessions, go to www.fahcsia.gov.au
The Government is serious about tackling homelessness. To do this, we need suggestions from people who have experienced homelessness, service providers, business and the general community. Everyone needs to contribute to solving this problem. This is your opportunity to express your views and put forward the ‘big ideas’ you believe can make a real difference to reducing homelessness.
We want your input on any issues included in this Green Paper. You may want to use the following questions to guide your responses to the three options for reforms set out in Section Four. Please also tell us about any other ideas or proposals you think might work.
- What goal(s) should we set to reduce homelessness?
- What targets will best help us reach our goal?
- What are the best ways to measure the targets we set?
- What are the three research priorities for a national homelessness research agenda?
- Have we got the principles right?
- How can the business sector best be involved in reducing homelessness?
- How can we develop broader community involvement and maximize the contribution of the philanthropic sector?
- What are the barriers to radical change in homelessness services and how could they be overcome?
- How do we develop collective accountability for outcomes in a ‘joined-up’ system?
- Taxpayer funds are limited—where, across the range of possibilities under option one, should we direct our effort to give us the biggest impact?
- How would the investments and reforms proposed in option two improve outcomes for SAAP clients and reduce homelessness?
- What else might be needed to ensure collaboration between SAAP services and the mainstream service system?
- What incentives are needed to forge strong, ongoing links between homelessness response services and mainstream services?
- What would be needed to drive innovative forms of support within SAAP and accelerate their take-up across Australia? Who should be the drivers of this process?
- Taxpayer funds are limited—where, across the range of possible improvements to SAAP in option two, should we direct our effort to give us the biggest impact?
- Will option three bring change at a pace and scale to reduce homelessness and over the long term?
- What else is needed to help mainstream services better respond to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless?
- Taxpayer funds are limited—where, across the range of possibilities for mainstream services, should we direct our effort to give us the biggest impact?
The closing date for receiving submissions is 27 June 2008. You can put forward your views by:
- visiting www.fahcsia.gov.au, selecting the ‘Housing and Homelessness’ link and selecting the ‘Homelessness Green Paper’ link. When making a submission, you can use the online template to make an online submission responding to the Green Paper consultation questions
- writing to:
Homelessness Green Paper Submissions
PO Box 7442
CANBERRA BC ACT, 2610 - participating in public consultation sessions—for information about locations, timing and venues, go to www.fahcsia.gov.au. Details will also be advertised in local and national papers.
For additional copies of the Green Paper please contact 1800 774 055.
Important: Please indicate clearly if you want your submission to be treated as confidential or anonymous.
Confidentiality Statement
All submissions will be treated as public documents, unless the author of the submission clearly indicates the contrary by marking all or part of the submission as ‘confidential’. Public submissions may be published in full on the website, including any personal information of authors and/or other third parties contained in the submission. If your submission contains the personal information of any third party individuals, please indicate on the cover of your submission if they have not consented to the publication of their information. A request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to a submission marked confidential will be determined in accordance with that Act.